20 Infantry members, chief dismissed over Madiun incident<\/p>\n
MALANG, East Java (JP): The Army's Strategic Reserves Command
\n(Kostrad) chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu has discharged chief
\nof Kostrad's Airborne Infantry Battalion 501 Maj. Komistin
\nHadirin and his deputy Maj. Nurcholid, as well as 20 members of
\nthe battalion, over a deadly attack on Madiun Police station and
\nseveral other police stations on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
Two students were shot dead in the incident, while scores of
\npolicemen and Army members were injured.<\/p>\n
\"If another such incident ever happens again, I will not show
\nany mercy to those involved. I'll discharge every member of a
\nbattalion if necessary,\" Ryamizard was quoted by Antara as saying
\nafter presiding over Monday's roll call of Artillery Regiment I
\nhere.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the parents of the dead students, Hendrik, 17, and
\nM. Adi Nugroho, 18, said they would file suit against the police
\nand the Army for the deaths of their sons.<\/p>\n
\"Why did they shoot my son?\" said Waluyo, the father of Adi,
\nadding that he would take the case to the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights should the police and military fail to respond to
\nhis lawsuit.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, the spokesman for the East Java Brawijaya
\nMilitary Command, Lt. Col. Djoko Agus, said in Surabaya on Monday
\nthat the 20 infantry battalion members involved in the incident
\nwere in the custody of the Madiun military police. \"They are
\nwaiting for legal processing for the offense,\" he said. \"We are
\ninvestigating the case very seriously.\"<\/p>\n
Fierce attacks by members of Infantry Battalion 501 on Madiun
\nPolice station and three substations occurred after a heated
\nargument between two men on a motorcycle with Navy Second Lt.
\nA.M. Jeremy and Army Second Lt. Azis and police Second Lt. Tatit
\nMuji Widodo. The three men were out of uniform.<\/p>\n
The three lieutenants were in a car queued up to buy gasoline
\nat a gas station near the town square. They became upset when two
\nmen on a motorbike ignored all the vehicles lined up for gas and
\ncut in front of their car.<\/p>\n
It later became known that the two men on the motorcycle were
\nmembers of Infantry Battalion 501.<\/p>\n
The three officers and the two military policemen began to
\nargue, which escalated when a large number of members of the
\ninfantry battalion arrived at the scene and helped the military
\npolicemen.<\/p>\n
Police Second Lt. Tatit fired a warning shot, which did not
\nstop the fighting. One of the military policemen tried to grab
\nTatit's gun and was shot in the leg.<\/p>\n
The brawl led to an attack by about 300 members of Infantry
\nBattalion 501 on Madiun Police station on Jl. Pahlawan, and three
\nother substations in the town at midnight on Saturday. One
\ntraffic police post in the precinct was destroyed.<\/p>\n
Other buildings were also attacked and damaged, including the
\npolice hospital. Several police vehicles were also destroyed.
\nMany police officers were seriously injured in the attack.<\/p>\n
Another attack took place an hour later when more than 50 Army
\nmembers returned to the police precinct and destroyed other
\nbuildings. Scores of civilians were reportedly following the Army
\nin the attack.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard, however, strongly denied an allegation that some
\nArmy members were equipped with guns during the attack, and that
\nthe Army members were helped by civilians.<\/p>\n
The police earlier claimed that the civilians were not helping
\nthe Army members, but were just watching events unfold.<\/p>\n
Last April, police officers were involved in brawl with
\nmembers of the Navy in Cirebon, West Java. No fatalities were
\nreported.<\/p>\n
In other areas, including Maluku, Central Kalimantan and Irian
\nJaya, fatal clashes between the police and the Army have also
\ntaken place in the past.<\/p>\n
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Didi Widayadi said in
\nJakarta on Monday that Nation Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro
\nhad instructed all parties in the police force to remain calm in
\ntheir reaction to events in Madiun and to refrain from entering
\ninto \"institutional\" feuds.<\/p>\n
Following the incident, a joint investigative team of police
\nand military personnel was deployed to probe the case.<\/p>\n
Also in Jakarta, a member of House of Representatives (DPR)
\nCommission I, Permadi, said that the clash indicated that
\ndiscipline among police and Army officers was still very poor.
\n\"Army and police leaders have failed to build discipline among
\ntheir members.\" (emf\/nur\/sur)<\/p>",
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